Leave and holidays
Loss of pay (LOP): what an unpaid day costs on a salary
Loss of pay, usually written LOP, is a day an employee is absent with no leave balance or approval to cover it, so the employer pays nothing for that day. The day is removed from payable days and the month's salary is reduced pro rata. Employers also call it leave without pay.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Also called: LOP, loss of pay, leave without pay, LWP
In plain English
If someone stays away from work on a day that no paid leave covers, the day is unpaid. Their pay for the month drops by that many days.
How it works in detail
LOP starts where the leave balance ends. An employee applies for a day off, the approver checks the casual leave or sick leave balance, and when nothing is left the day is marked loss of pay. An absence nobody applied for is treated the same way. A half day worked against a full day of absence usually becomes half a day of LOP, so the deduction is half the per-day rate.
The deduction itself is arithmetic on payable days. Divide the monthly salary by the days the employer counts in the month, then multiply by the LOP days. What varies between employers is the divisor. Some use the calendar days of the month, some use a fixed 26 days, some use days excluding weekly offs. The divisor belongs in the appointment letter, and it should not change from one month to the next.
A worked example
The setup
Say Meena is a salaried supervisor on INR 18,500 a month. Her employer counts 26 payable days in November, and she takes three days of LOP.
The calculation
INR 18,500 / 26 = INR 711.54 per payable day, rounded to two decimals. 3 LOP days x INR 711.54 = INR 2,134.62 deducted. Gross for the month is INR 18,500 - INR 2,134.62 = INR 16,365.38.The result
Meena is paid INR 16,365.38 before any other deduction. Her slip shows 23 days paid, 3 days marked as LOP, and the exact amount held back.
Common mistakes
- Deducting a weekly off or a national holiday that falls next to an LOP day. Only the absent working days are unpaid, unless the employer's own written rule covers a holiday between two absences.
- Marking a full day of LOP when the employee worked a half day. Half a day worked is half a day of pay, so the deduction is half the per-day rate.
- Marking an approved leave as LOP because the balance was checked after payroll ran. Check the balance when you approve, and mark loss of pay at that moment, so the slip needs no correction.
How VTClock handles it
Approve a leave request, reject it, or mark it loss of pay. Salary then builds from attendance fractions, holidays, weekly offs and approved leave, and the slip shows the LOP.
Frequently asked questions
Is loss of pay the same as leave without pay?
They mean the same deduction. Leave without pay is the phrase used when an employee asks for time off with no balance left and the employer agrees to give the day unpaid. Loss of pay is the phrase that appears on the salary slip when the day is deducted. Some employers use one word in the policy and the other on the slip.
How many days do I divide the monthly salary by for an LOP deduction?
That is the employer's choice, written into the appointment letter or the standing policy. The three common divisors are the calendar days in the month, a fixed 26 days, and the working days after weekly offs are removed. Each gives a different per-day rate on the same salary. Pick one, state it in writing, and use it for every employee in every month.
Can an employer refuse leave and still mark the absence as loss of pay?
Yes. If the employee stays away after the request is rejected, the day is unpaid, and it is recorded as loss of pay on the register and the slip. The employer's own standing orders or appointment letter decide what else follows, such as a warning. Write the rule down before you need it, and apply it the same way for everyone.
What does an employee see on the slip in a month with LOP?
The slip shows the days counted for pay, the days marked as loss of pay, and the amount deducted for them. An employee who compares the slip against their own record of the month can see exactly which days were unpaid. Anything unclear on that line is worth settling before the next payroll runs.
Related terms
- Payable daysPayable days are the number of days a monthly salary is spread across, and the number of days in a given month the employee is actually paid for.
- Casual leaveCasual leave, usually written CL, is paid time off an employer grants for short personal reasons that arrive at little notice: a bank errand, a family matter, a day of travel.
- Sick leaveSick leave is paid time off an employee draws when they are unwell, under treatment, or advised rest by a doctor.
- Pro-rata salaryPro-rata salary is the share of a monthly salary an employee earns when they are on the payroll for only part of the month, or on two different salary rates inside it.
- Half dayA half day is a working day on which an employee is present for only part of the shift and is counted for half the day's pay.
- Salary slipA salary slip is the statement an employer gives an employee for one wage period, setting out what was earned, what was deducted and what was paid.
Modules that touch this
- LeaveStaff apply with dates, type and attachments. Approve, reject or mark loss of pay without chasing WhatsApp threads.
- SalaryMonthly pay builds from attendance fractions, holidays, weekly offs and approved leave, so there are no side calculations.
- Salary slipsBranded, printable slips with earnings, an attendance summary and advance recovery. Staff see the same figures you print.
See how VTClock handles loss of pay
Tell us how your team is paid and where attendance is recorded today. We will show you what the module does with it.